A. Field
This invention relates to a security seal for sealing articles or mechanisms against tampering in a manner revealing any tampering with the seal that would release or open the seal.
B. Related Art
Security seals are known for sealing articles and mechanisms such as, for example, electric, gas and water meters, against tampering in a manner that reveals any tampering with the seal for the purpose obtaining access to the sealed article or mechanism. Such seals are revealed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,513 granted Jul. 21, 1998 to Ian Nazzari; U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,517 granted Sep. 4, 2001 to Ian Nazzari; U.S. Pat. No. 998,878 granted to Dinsmoor; U.S. Pat. No. 1,132,970 granted Mar. 23, 1915 to Peyton; U.S. Pat. No. 1,878,991 granted. Sep. 20, 1932 to Murray; U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,423 granted Jun. 27, 1995 to Georgopoulos; U.S. Pat. No. 6,996,584 granted Nov. 22, 2005 to Debrody et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,243,963 granted Jul. 17, 2007 to Castro.
Known prior art tamper indicating seals tend to be costly and/or are not sufficiently secure against surreptitious tampering by imaginative thieves or intruders using special tools and equipment designed to open the seals without any visible or readily visible sign showing such opening. In the case of lock wire or hasp type seals that have internal detents or locking elements designed to prevent opening of the seal and release of the hasp or wire once the seal is connected to the article or mechanism to be sealed and closed, thieves or intruders have been found to use small drills or punches to reach the locking detents or locking elements inside the seal body and thereby release the detents of locking elements with only a small, difficult to observe, hole left in the seal outer body as the only evidence of tampering with the seal. The thieves or intruders are thus able to gain access to the previously sealed articles or mechanisms without detection, and to replace the seal in a sealing mode after the tampering without visible signs of damage to the seal because the seal does not readily show the manner in which the seal was opened.
There is a need, therefore, for a tamper indicating security seal that provides better resistance against surreptitious outside access to the locking mechanism within the seal, particularly in the environment of a security seal using bendable locking fingers engaging fixed abutments within the seal body.